Thill-tug.



J. W. MARSALIS.

THILL TUG.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14, 1911.

Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

. INVENTOR (Irma/7w J m tome JAMES W. MARSALIS, OF HATTIESBURG',MISSISSIPPI.

THILL-TUG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 14, 1911.

Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

Serial No. 649,237.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES WV. MARsALIS, citizen of the United States,residing at Hattiesburg, in the county of Forest and State ofMississippi, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inThill-Tugs, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inthill tugs for vehicles, the object of the invention being to provide adevice of this character which is simple and inexpensive in itsconstruction, which admits of the hold-back strap being quickly attachedto the shaft or detached therefrom without wrapping itaround the same inthe usual manner, and which will readily slip over the end of the shaftand become detached therefrom in the event the traces should break andleave the animal otherwise free.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter which can be readily placed upon the shafts of any vehicle andemployed in connection with the usual harness.

WVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel combinations and arrangements of the parts as will more fullyappear as the description proceeds, the novel features thereof beingpointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings, in

Figure l is a side elevation showing the manner in which the thill tugis applied. Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of Fig. 1, the sleeve and stopcollar being shown in section. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional viewthrough the device. Fig. 4; is a detail view of the stop collar, andFig. 5 is a detached perspective view of the sleeve.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

Specifically describing the present embodiment of the invention, thenumeral 1 designates a shaft which may be of the usual construction.This shaft is provided at a suitable point in the length thereof with astop collar 3 which is preferably provided at the top and bottom thereofwith the stop flanges 3. This collar is preferably split, the endsthereof being extended outwardly on the outside of the shaft, asindicated at 4, and connected by a clamping screw 5. It will be observedthat the inside of the stop collar is smooth, all projections Whichmight injure the holdback strap or rub against the sides of the draftanimal being avoided. This stop collar may be readily formed from sheetmetal, and can be quickly slipped upon any shaft and rigidly clamped inany desired position thereon.

A sleeve 6 is slipped loosely over the end of the shaft so as to abutagainst the stop collar when in normal position. This sleeve ispreferably formed of sheet metal, and

a tongue 7 projects upwardly from the central portion thereof. Thistongue is stamped from the sleeve and bent upwardly therefrom, the upperend of the tongue being bifurcated and the arms of the bifurcation beingreturned at 8 for engagement with the cross bar of the buckle 9. Thisbuckle is designed to engage the strap 10 which is pendent from theharness saddle 11. The bottom of the sleeve 6 is provided with anelongated loop 12 to which the upper end of the belly band 13 isconnected. This loop has one side thereof received within a roll orelongated eye 14 formed by stamping a tongue from the sleeve andsuitably bending the same.

The inner side of the sleeve is provided at each end thereof with avertically disposed roll or eye 15. These eyes may be convenientlyformed by rolling tongues at the ends of the sleeve, and each of theeyes engages an upright .loop 16. The rear loop is designed to have theholdback strap 17 attached thereto, and by providing one of these loopsat each end of the sleeve, the necessity of constructing sleeves inrights and lofts is avoided. In other words, the sleeve can be readilyreversed and placed upon the opposite shaft without the necessity ofmaking any changes or adjustments.

With the foregoing construction the holdback strap can be quicklyattached or detached from the shaft, and there is no necessity for'wrapping the same around the shaft in the usual awkward and timeconsuming manner. This device has the further advantage of tending toprevent accidents, since the sleeve 6 will slip readily over the forwardendof the shaft should the horse become otherwise detached from thevehicle.

Having thus described the invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A thill tug, including a sheet metal sleeve adapted to be fitted upona shaft, the said sleeve being provided at one end thereof with a tonguewhich is rolled rearwardly to form an eye and having tongues stampedfrom the top and bottom thereof, the lower tongue being rolled to forman eye while the upper tongue is bent upwardly, a buckle engaged by theend of the upper tongue and adapted to receive the saddle strap, a loopengaging the eye at the bottom of the sleeve and adapted to engage thebelly band, and a loop engaging the eye at the end of the sleeve andadapted to engage the holdback strap.

2. A thill tug, including a reversible sheet metal sleeve adapted to befitted removably over the end of a shaft, opposite ends of the sleevebeing provided upon the inner side thereof with tongues which are rolledto provide vertically disposed eyes, and tongues being stamped from thetop and bottom of the sleeve, the lower tongue being rolled to form ahorizontally disposed eye while the upper tongue is bent upwardly andhas the end thereof bifurcated, a. buckle adapted to engage the saddlestrap and having the middle cross bar thereof engaged by the arms of thebifurcation of the upper tongue, a loop engaged by the bottom eye andadapted to receive the belly band, and loops engaging the eyes at theends of the sleeve, the rear loop being adapted to receive the holdbackstrap.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signa ture in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES W. MARSALIS. Witnesses:

H. G. GREER,J1., J. S. Lovn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

